One of the most beloved events of the Artosphere music and nature festival gets a makeover this year as Trail Mix spills into the urban landscape of downtown Fayetteville today. With the inclusion of "Topo Map For School Avenue" -- finally brought to fruition after years of planning -- the Walton Arts Center's completed renovation and availability of outdoor spaces, Trail Mix is centered around the festival's host venue in the hopes of making the event more walkable and family friendly.
"This year we've kept it more contained than years past," says Rachel Burkevich, programming coordinator with the WAC. "It's been pretty sprawling before, so it was harder for people to really experience everything. But I think this year it will be contained enough that people will be able to see everything they want to see in the short amount of time that they might have here ... because it's all on sidewalks, and it's all accessible."
FAQ
Trail Mix
WHEN & WHERE — 5:30-7:30 p.m. today in Fayetteville; 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday in Bentonville
COST — Free and open to the public
INFO — 443-5600, waltonartscenter.org
FYI — Maps and performance info available online and on the Artosphere app.
Utilizing the venue spaces, as Trail Mix in Bentonville has already done in the past with Crystal Bridges, also creates opportunities for local partners to set up activities for adults and kids alike. Just a few activations include Community Creative Center, which will have arts and crafts set up in the WAC Rose Garden; the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will have a mobile aquarium set up behind WAC; and Walton Arts Center will air the KUAF broadcast from the sold-out "Mozart in the Museum" concert with the festival orchestra at Crystal Bridges.
"We also really want to be able to work the theme that we're using this year," adds director of programming Jennifer Ross, "and help people be aware that the water is a huge part of our life. Not only is it something that we need to sustain ourselves, but it also can be fun and it's a life force, it's a force for fun, and it's a way for us to kind of reflect on what water means to us in the greater scheme."
-- Jocelyn Murphy
jmurphy@nwadg.com
NAN What's Up on 06/15/2018